A frequent occurrence in downhole operations is the need to run control lines along a string and past downhole equipment to reach yet other equipment. The lines can conduct hydraulic fluid under pressure, or electric power, or electric signals in either direction. Frequently, a running string or production string is run through tight clearances and that causes a concern about damage to the control line or lines that are frequently run along side.
One solution that has been tried in the past is illustrated in FIGS. 1-5. FIG. 1 shows a side pocket mandrel 10, as an example. FIG. 2 is a section along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1 and shows the use of two parallel rods 12 and 14 that are shown in bigger scale in FIG. 3. In between rods 12 and 14 there is a valley 16 where a control line is disposed, although not shown in the FIGS. 1-5. FIG. 5 shows a hinge clamp 18 that has loops 20 and 22 that are sized to go over rods 12 and 14. FIG. 4 shows the clamp 18 slipped over the rods 12 and 14 and secured at each rod with a fastener 24. The clamp 18 was simply bolted at one loop such as 20 with a fastener 24 and then swiveled to align the loop 22 with the other rod so that another fastener 24 could be installed to retain the control line between rods 12 and 14 at either one of their ends. FIG. 1 shows the clamp 18 at both ends of the parallel rods 12 and 14. FIGS. 1 and 4 show deflection rods 26 having a tapered surface 28. These deflection rods 26 protected the ends of the rods 12 and 14 during running in or pulling out of the hole. The control line (not shown) would go through the deflection rod assembly 26 to give added protection to the lines as well as the parallel rods 12 and 14.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a big problem in this design was that it added to the diameter of the tool that was being run in. In some cases that would make it impossible to deliver the tool because the drift diameters downhole were simply not large enough. In other cases of close clearances the clamp 18 would get hung up and get sheared off and the control line or lines would come out from between rods 12 and 14 and would get damaged.
Another proposal to improve the previously described attempt was to take away some on the wall thickness such as at the thick portion of a side pocket mandrel and simply guide the control line through the longitudinal groove. While this idea did not add to the outer dimension of the assembly, it had another shortcoming. There were no provisions for retaining the control line in the groove except external bands that simply defeated the purpose of the recessed groove by adding back bulk that would either prevent advancement of the assembly altogether or it would present components sticking out that could get snagged and stick the tool or get sheared off.
What is needed and provided by the present invention is a way of retaining the control line or lines in a recess without components that stick out by allowing the placement of retainers at desired locations. These and other advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from a review of the description of the preferred embodiment and the claims that appear below.